Of all the jobs threatened by AI, perhaps none is more vulnerable than that of creative copywriter. Agencies are abandoning their human editors in favor of AI abound, with a academic document published last October, it already reported a 21% drop in writing-based jobs since ChatGPT became widely available the previous year. Meanwhile, the few writers still employed are increasingly tasked with machine generated language cleaning instead of bringing forth a new text from the human mind.
But one agency that isn’t yet replacing copywriters with communications engineers is verbal branding agency Reed Words. On the contrary, co-founder and director of verbal communications Mike Reed believes that more precise human articulation will now be needed more than ever, and in a show of confidence, he’s expanding his London and New York-based business to Asia.
“It’s remarkable how quickly I hear people say things like, ‘Ugh, you could say this is written by AI,’ in a very derogatory way,” Reed says. Campaign on a recent visit to Singapore, where the new office is located. “It’s a constant development, so we can’t rest on our laurels, but I think there’s a whole area of writing or ‘content’ that’s going to be crushed by AI, because it’s already pretty blurry.”
The company is well-versed in corporate jargon, running workshops to keep organizations from looking like boring, faceless corporations with no personality or credibility.
Editors and marketing teams that already produce this type of traditional content should indeed expect to be replaced by AI, Reed says, noting estimates that 90% of the internet could be powered by AI by 2026.
“Any brand that wants to move beyond that is going to have to look to some form of original language and interesting uses of words,” he says. “I’m arrogant enough to think that what we do as more creative writers is going to be what people and brands are going to look to, to differentiate themselves from what is going to become more and more of a volume of average, boring, AI-regurgitated stuff.”
Verbal branding: outdated?
For the record, Reed is no Luddite. Like other agencies, Reed Words also uses generative AI for research and ideation. Reed himself is also aware that he has to be wary of engineers who are quick to copy his working style or the voice of his clients’ brands.
While a verbal branding agency certainly seems anachronistic in an AI world with increased use of emojis, acronyms, and fake news—all of which have arguably trivialized or devalued the use of words—Reed instead flips the narrative, suggesting that words now have more value.
“We’ve spent thousands of years developing language,” Reed says. “It’s a really good tool now. Sure, it can be misused, but that doesn’t devalue the tool itself.” As for acronyms and emojis, Reed argues that they’re just another element of the expressiveness of writing, as additions and embellishments. “I feel like words are more important now than ever because there are all these different channels that didn’t exist not so long ago.”
“We see so many examples of brands ruining conversations on social media with consumers because they’re not expressing themselves in the right way,” he continues. “That’s why we need to think about this more than ever.”
The company
A copywriter for 30 years, it’s no surprise that Reed is reluctant to underestimate the continuing importance of words and language, the cornerstone of the Reed Words business, which celebrated its tenth anniversary last year.
In reality, the core value of what Reed offers his clients is not verbiage, but clarity. Too many words can muddy the waters, but the right words can serve as brand anchors, around which purpose can be defined and new narratives can be built. Reed likes to put text in front of clients early on to get quick reactions that drive home what their company or product really stands for.
Reed Words’ tone work for Heinz
In this way, Reed Words operates more like a full-scale creative agency than a specialist copywriting service. Whereas in the past, agencies and brand clients would hire copywriters to add nice copy at the end of the process, once the brief was provided and the design work was complete, Reed Words now finds itself involved earlier in client projects to generate ideas and formulate brand strategies.
Most of the firm’s clients are advertising, branding and design agencies, but they increasingly work directly with brand clients, ranging from consumer majors to consultancies, banks and arts organizations.
Reed’s Works
Among its high-profile achievements, Reed Words collaborated with Wieden+Kennedy on the rebranding of Formula 1, defining its new brand guidelines that have garnered admiration and respect from industry professionals who have since used them. Their work with Heinz is also remembered alongside JKR’s designs that gave the packaged food brand a unique voice.
Working on tone of voice in Formula 1
Perhaps the most notable project is the one that got Reed Words off the ground as an agency. Reed Words partnered with Landor to create the voice of the new World Trade Center after 9/11, on behalf of the Port Authority of New York’s rebuilding of Lower Manhattan. The first task was to install signs around the site that would remain for years, with informative and emotional messages about the steps being taken to restore this part of the city.
“As you can imagine, the brief was very tricky,” says Reed. “We wanted to be celebratory and upbeat, but without ignoring what had happened. These were short statements where every word had to be carefully considered, both in tone and information.”
Construction panels of the new World Trade Center
English in Asia
It’s this kind of high-profile work that Reed hopes will help attract Asian clients to its newly established presence in Singapore, led by managing director Rupert Thomson.
A former Reed Words client, Thomson sees great opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region. “There are a lot of incredible companies coming out of the region,” he says. “But sometimes it feels like there’s a gap between the quality of their products and the quality of how they’re talked about (in English). That’s a valuable role we can play.”
Thomson acknowledges the sensitivity of this point, given that the company is British and places great emphasis on making the best use of the English language, which he says carries “cultural baggage”. However, he also points out that English is the official business language of ASEAN and is used in business in many Asian markets as well as around the world. “Local companies and brands that want to grow and expand globally will primarily use English to do so,” he says.
For now, most of the initial work for new clients based in Asia, such as the Singapore Repertory Theatre, will be done by the London team. But the plan is to expand Companies in Singapore to the point where its own local team will be recruited, similar to how its New York office was formed.
Starting small is a common approach. Much of Reed Words’ commercial pipeline consists of initially small projects that grow as key questions about brand voice and strategy identify larger needs. Having a robust portfolio that stays in the public eye shouldn’t hurt, either.
Positioning himself as a language expert and copywriter, does Reed sometimes fear the embarrassment of seeing a typo or grammatical error in his work?
“Always, yes,” he admits. “But we’re pretty good at not doing that.”
